Amanda Balmores
MA, LPC, LAC, ATR-BC®
she, her, hers
ART Therapist
Executive Director
Co-founder
"I believe it’s my calling to walk alongside youth as they navigate their mental health and discover their capacity to shine."
About Amanda
​Amanda is a warm, engaging art therapist, clinical supervisor, and substance use counselor with a decade of experience in the mental health field. She leads with a client-centered, trauma-informed approach, recognizing that behavioral challenges often reflect deeper experiences of trauma and unmet emotional needs. Amanda collaborates closely with youth to discover authentic, accessible forms of self-expression, offering choice and agency within the therapeutic process and supporting their ability to heal through creative exploration.
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​Amanda is deeply passionate about the transformative power of art therapy, having experienced its impact firsthand. She believes that art offers a way to speak the unspeakable, expressing what words often cannot. Her work centers on helping young people build awareness of their inner experiences, process traumas, and strengthen self-expressionm while finding ways to embrace their authentic selves and let their inner light shine.
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Her clinical experience has focused on working with at-risk adolescents navigating complex trauma and emotional/behavioral challenges. Amanda is especially committed to expanding access for underserved youth, including those impacted by the criminal justice-system, recognizing art therapy as a powerful and developmentally responsive approach for those who may not connect with traditional talk therapy.​ Additionally, Amanda provides supervision to emerging art therapists, supporting their growth as trauma-informed, creative clinicians.
Amanda has a Master of Arts Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Transpersonal Art Therapy from Naropa University. She also earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Alcohol and Drug Studies and a Bachelor of Science Degree in K-12 Art Education, both from Minnesota State University Mankato. Amanda is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) in Colorado, a Board Certified Registered Art TherapistSM (ATR-BC®), and a Licensed Substance Abuse Counselor (LADC) in Minnesota.
ArT Therapists
Art Therapist
Jessica Wasieleski
LPC, ATR
She, Her
Jessica is an Art Therapist passionate in supporting teens and adults. From a client-directed, strength-based approach, she believes counseling is a collaborative experience. Jessica holds a non-biased space for healing as she supports your own therapeutic journey and utilizes mindfulness based practices, transpersonal and creative tools to enhance the process. She is especially passionate about supporting youth in their own unique expression.
"Through the language of art making, it is my honor to assist in processing difficult emotional states and integrating sustainable and empowering tools to utilize in your life. Your WHOLE self is welcome and valid in the therapeutic space and I recognize your courage in seeking help."
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"It is my goal to help you flourish in your life. I am a firm believer in your inner resilience and I am here to highlight these areas with you."
Art Therapist
Chelsea Sager
LPCC, ATR
She, Her
Chelsea believes that creativity is a powerful and natural tool for healing—especially for children and teens, who often express themselves best through images, movement, and imagination. Chelsea creates safe, supportive spaces where young people can explore their feelings, build confidence, and make sense of their world through art. She meets each child where they are, using a wide range of materials and personalized art-based activities that reflect their unique interests, strengths, and needs. Whether it’s working through anxiety, trauma, behavioral challenges, or big life transitions, Chelsea helps kids and teens access their creativity as a way to understand themselves and grow.
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Chelsea's clinical experience includes working in residential treatment, hospital-based care, school and community settings, supporting children and adolescents with complex emotional and behavioral needs. She uses trauma-informed and mindfulness-based approaches to help young people regulate emotions, develop coping skills, and feel seen and heard. Chelsea believes in partnering with youth and their families to foster healing, resilience, and self-expression through the art-making process.
Art Therapist
Dakotah Cheyenne Acosta
LPC, ATR
She, Her
Dakotah is a mindfulness-based art therapist with a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health and Transpersonal Art Therapy from Naropa University. She provides telehealth art therapy to adolescents, young adults, and parents—creating safe, nonjudgmental spaces where individuals can explore their emotions and experiences through art, mindfulness, and open dialogue.
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Through her integrative approach, Dakotah uses creativity and mindfulness practices to help clients build self-awareness, emotional resilience, and coping skills. She offers a compassionate and thoughtful environment where clients can reflect on their challenges and develop practical tools for healing and growth.
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Dakotah’s work is centered around fostering deeper understanding and a kinder perspective on life’s complexities, empowering clients to graciously move forward in a way that aligns with their values and personal goals.
Art Therapist Intern
Zoe Hatch
She, Her
Zoe is a master’s student in Art Therapy and Mental Health Counseling program at Southwestern College. Prior to this, she spent a decade teaching art and English in New York City and Asia. Those experiences deepened her belief about how culture, expression, and experiences shape who we are, and she carries these perspectives into clinical work.
Zoe brings a spirit of openness and curiosity to her sessions. She pays close attention to the body’s signals, stories that images hold, and the importance of relationships. She sees the studio as a safe and supportive place to reconnect with yourself, discover new perspectives, and practice tools for facing difficult things.
Her approach is client-centered and often blends expressive art with ecotherapy and somatic practices. She knows how creativity and connection with the natural world can support growth and self-understanding. Zoe also enjoys incorporating movement and music, inviting clients to explore how therapy can be playful and energizing as well as reflective and insightful. Sessions with Zoe are collaborative, personalized, and responsive to each person’s needs.
Ultimately, she strives to support teens in building a stronger sense of themselves as they navigate the ups and downs of their path through life into adulthood.
Art Therapist Intern
Rhonda Sterkel
She, Her
Rhonda is a master’s level Art Therapy Intern from the Transpersonal Art Therapy and Mental Health Counseling program at Naropa University. She brings a compassionate, mindfulness-based approach to her work and is deeply interested in supporting underserved populations. Rhonda’s own lived experience and developing a connection with art later in life influenced her passion to help others find their strengths and creativity, despite the challenging situations they may be experiencing.
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Rhonda has facilitated art groups across the lifespan, including mentoring at the Naropa Community Art Studio and working with seniors in memory care and hospice settings. Her clinical interests include navigating stress, grief, and complex trauma, while supporting clients in reconnecting with their creativity, self-exploration, and inner wisdom, all while using art therapy.
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She brings a passion about using art and cognitive behavioral therapy to help teens develop the tools that they can use in navigating life’s challenges.
Art Therapist Intern
Megan Lloyd
She, Her
Megan is a master’s student in Transpersonal Art Therapy and Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Naropa University. Megan believes that self-expression is one of the most powerful tools for healing and approaches her work with curiosity, compassion, and a strong belief in each person’s inner capacity for growth. She has worked with adolescents and young adults, creating supportive and collaborative spaces where clients can explore emotions, identity, and life experiences through creativity and self-expression.
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Megan’s experience includes supporting young adults navigating substance use and co-occurring mental health challenges, as well as serving as an art mentor with the Naropa Community Art Studio’s Senderos program.
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Her therapeutic approach integrates mindfulness, somatic awareness, and expressive arts practices to create nonjudgmental spaces where clients can explore parts of themselves through various modalities specific to the client’s needs and experience. Megan is passionate about helping individuals reconnect with their authentic selves through creativity, community, and the process of connecting to one’s inner world.
Board of directors
KRISTA MARKS
CO-Founder &
Chair
In 2021, Amanda and Krista decided to create restART studio for deeply personal reasons. As a young adult, Krista had a family member who served four years in a Georgia state prison. During this time, she traveled regularly to visit, sent care packages, and provided money for their canteen account. For holidays, Krista and her husband would stay in the small, rural town close to the facility so they could celebrate together in a sparsely furnished visitor room.
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As hard as this experience was, it was significantly more support than most inmates received — a group disproportionately poor and people of color. It was starkly apparent that for most of the inmates, the odds had been stacked against them from the day they were born. Krista was profoundly affected by seeing this reality firsthand, and she always knew that someday she wanted to find a way to do more.
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When Krista met Amanda, it was clear that art therapy offered a window to do just that — to help youth have the confidence and psychological strength they need to start a new path, a program that could succeed where talk therapy often fails. The result was restART studio, designed to leverage the power of art therapy to help justice-involved youth find the strength and skills they need to seek a new path.
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Professionally, Krista is an entrepreneur and product leader who has co-founded three companies, including a successful exit to Disney. She currently serves as a non-executive director for Tutorful and on the board of NCWIT. She brings decades of experience building organizations from the ground up — and a deep personal commitment to the mission of restART.
she, her, hers
Tom is a serial entrepreneur and engineer that brings over 20 years of experience delivering award-winning products to market. Tom currently serves as Chief Technology Officer at Saga Education, an organization dedicated to educational equity through high-impact tutoring.
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Tom is Chief Technology Officer at Saga Education, an organization dedicated to educational equity through high-impact tutoring. He previously co-founded Woot Math, an adaptive math learning platform whose efficacy was validated by two randomized controlled trials funded by the National Science Foundation and which was acquired by Saga in 2020.
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Before that, Tom was part of the founding team at Kerpoof, a children's creative platform acquired by Disney in 2007. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a M.S. in Electrical Engineeringfrom the University of Colorado Boulder, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Electrical and Computer Science Department at Mines. A founding board member of restART since 2021, Tom provides fiscal oversight, governance support, and technology strategy insight. He is also a long-time supporter of the I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County.
Tom Fischaber
he, him, his
Board Secretary
& Treasurer
Lori is the Chief Growth Officer for the I Have a Dream Foundation, where she leads the national growth and expansion strategy for the Foundation's affiliate network. Before joining the national team in 2020, Lori served as President and CEO of the I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County for 23 years, growing the organization by 300% to serve over 1,100 students.
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Her nonprofit career has been dedicated to empowering youth from marginalized communities. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver and brings deep relationships across Boulder County's civic, educational, and philanthropic communities.
Lori Canova
she, her, hers
Board Member
Cindy is a licensed professional counselor and a board-certified art therapist in private practice in Longmont, CO. She works with adults facing a variety of challenges including trauma, grief, climate grief, body image, anxiety, and life transitions. She also has a special interest working with people with cancer and conducts art therapy workshops at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center. In addition, Cindy has a certification in Animal-Assisted Psychotherapy, and works with animals in therapy which, she believes, fosters the healing and growing process.
On the restART board, Cindy provides clinical guidance, governance insight, and serves as a DEI advocate and community connector.
Cindy Gordon
PhD, LPC, ATR-BC, CAAP
she, her, hers
Board Member
Lisa brings entrepreneurial and community engagement experience to restART's mission. After a 30-year career in the financial industry, she launched a second career as an entrepreneur working alongside seniors and their families to navigate the often overwhelming process of downsizing and moving. Her empathetic approach has made her a trusted resource for the families she serves.
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Lisa's interest in art therapy grew from a personal experience: watching her young children work through their feelings on paper at moments when they couldn't yet put those feelings into words. That experience left her with a lasting belief in art therapy's power to reach young people. As Board Advisor, Lisa supports restART's storytelling, outreach, and fundraising efforts, and helps connect the organization to the broader community.
Lisa Bevens
she, her, hers
BOARD Advisor